goethe's personality. characterized by incidents from his

':i GOETHE'S PERSONALITY.

CHARACTERIZED BY INCIDENTS FROM HIS LIFE.

BY THE EDITOR.I

GOETHE was of a fine stature and a prepossessing noble face.

He had large bright eyes and generally wore a serene and kindly

expression. We know from many reports of his contemporaries

that his appearance was striking, although we may fairly well take

for granted that most of the portraits made of Goethe are idealized,

and this is especially the case of the bust made by Alexander

Trippel (born 1744 at Schaffhausen, died September 24. 1793 at

Rome). He met Goethe in Rome, and the bust he made of the poet

is commonly called Goethe's Apollo bust, because it bears an un-

mistakable resemblance to the Belvidere statue of the god of music

and poetry. Goethe wrote of this piece of art under September

14, 1787: "My bust is very well executed. Everybody is satisfied

with it. Certainly it is wrought in a beautiful and noble style, and

I have no objection that posterity should think I looked like this."

As a rule Goethe enjoyed good health, but when a child he not

only passed through all the usual children's diseases but also the

dangerous black pox. In his eighteenth year at Leipsic he suffered

from a hemmorrhage of the lungs and remained for some time in

a critical condition. In later years he observed the rules of hygienic

living and only once afterwards underwent a dangerous disease.

Slight disturbances of his health he would not allow to interfere

with his work, for he exercised his will power and was firmly con-

vinced that a man could overcome the danger of infection by cour-

age, while fear of a disease rendered the system liable to succumb

to it. He said to Eckermann (April 7, 1829) :

"It is remarkable what the moral will can accomplish. It per-

vades the body, so to speak, and puts it in an active condition that

throws off all injurious influences. Fear, on the other hand, is a

GOETHE S PERSONALITY. 721

THE APOLLO BUST OF GOETHE.By A. Trippel.

122 THE OPEN COURT.

condition of cowardly weakness and susceptibility which makes it

easv for every foe to gain possession of us."

He repeated this opinion in the last year of his life (March 21,

1831):

GOETHE IN HIS 83d YEAR.

After an engraving by Schwerdgeburt.

"I often sufifer from abdominal trouble, but a determined will

and the powers of my superior parts keep me going. The spirit

must not yield to the body. I work more easily when the barometer

is high than when it is low. Since I have discovered this I try by


greater exertion to overcome the evil effects of the low barometer,

and I succeed very well."

Goethe's genius consisted mainly in what may be called "ob-

FRIEDERICH VON MULLER, 1797-1849.

Drawing by Schmeller.

jectivity." A significant trait of his character consisted in the ability

to view the world and the persons with whom he came in contact,

with- a minimum degree of personal equation. His soul was like a

724 THE OPEN COURT.

perfect mirror which reproduced his surroundings with great cor-

rectness and impartiahty. He was conscious of this himself. When-ever his genius was praised in his presence he used to explain it in

some such words as these, recorded to have been spoken to Chan-

cellor von Miiller: "I permit objects to make their impression upon

me quietly. I observe the effect and endeavor to reproduce it faith-

fully and without vitiation. That is the whole secret of what menare pleased to call genius."

In. the same way he spoke to M. Soret, the tutor of the young

princes: "By no means do I owe my works to my own wisdom, but

to thousands of people and things around me that have furnished the

material. There came to me fools and sages, bright minds and

narrow, childhood and youth as well as mature age. All told metheir opinions, how they lived and worked and what experiences

they had gathered, and I had nothing else to do but get to work

and reap what others had sown for me."

The objectivity of Goethe's character enabled him to work out

the dramatis personae of his great dramas with great perfection.

It is true that the main characters always reflected one or another

trait of himself, and mostly in an exaggerated degree. Goethe was

Werther himself, and he experienced the pathological condition so

marvelously described in his book : but Goethe possessed sufficient

strength to diagnose his own case and as soon as he had worked it

out in good literary form he had rid himself of the disease.

It is for this reason that Goethe's novels are by no means char-

acteristic of Goethe's genius, and we deem it regrettable that in

certain circles they are read more than his other works. Goethe has

incorporated in all his works the pathology of his own development,

but his novels, "Werther," "Elective Affinities," and "Wilhelm

Meister," contain much that would better have been relegated to

oblivion. It is true that problems are treated in them which will

always command the interest of the student of psychology, but this

being. the case we must remember that the book should not be taken

by the broad public as ideal literature, but should bear a warning

sub-title, such as "Studies for the Pathologist." It takes a deeper

knowledge of the human mind to appreciate the genius here dis-

played, which as in all of Goethe's works reflects the objectivity of

his mind.

This same objectivity in Goethe's character enabled him to under-

stand persons who were different from himself, and to be just to

every one. Part of his success in life is due to his marvelous

faculty of treating persons in the proper way, avoiding unnecessary

goethet's personality. 725

conflicts and making friends of enemies. This is illustrated in anincident which occured to him in 1774 when he was still a youngman in the period of Storm and Stress.

^^^^^^^^^W^^J^^

726 THE OPEN COURT.

While traveling with Lavater he sat at the dinner table at Duis-

biirg together with several guests of the hotel, one of whom was

Rector Hasenkampf, a pious but tactless man. While Goethe and

the rest were carrying on a jovial conversation, Herr Hasenkampf

KARL FRIEDRICH ZELTER.

interrupted them by asking, "Are you Mr. Goethe?" Goethe nodded

assent. "And did you write that notorious book, 'The Sorrows of

Young Werther'?" "I did." Then I feel in duty bound to express

my horror at that infamous book. May God change your perverted

Goethe's personality. 727

heart! For woe to that man by whom offense cometh." A painful

silence followed, for all present expected the young poet's temper

to be aroused, but Goethe answered calmly, "I understand that from

your point of view you must judge me as you do, and I respect the

honesty of your reproof. Remember me in your prayers." In this

way Goethe disarmed the pious rector and won over every heart.

The conversation continued merrily, even the rector taking part in it.

Goethe could sympathize with others because he had experienced

in his own life much of the fate common to all men. Thus we have

a letter from him to Karl Friedrich Zelter, a musician of Berlin

with whom he carried on a long correspondence, and to whom he

looked up as his musical adviser. Zelter's son had committed sui-

cide, and Goethe wrote to him in these words : "About the deed or

misdeed itself, I know of nothing to say. WJien the tacdiuin vitae

attacks a man it can only be regretted, not censured. That the

symptoms of this wonderful disease, as natural as it is unnatural,

once took possession of my inmost being also, 'Werther' leaves no

one in doubt. I know right well what exertion and decisions it

cost me at that time to escape the waves of death, just as I have also

with great trouble rescued myself and laboriously recovered from

many a later shipwreck."* * *

Goethe's father was a patron of painters, and so the love of

art was naturally instilled into the poet from his earliest childhood.

We have many sketches by the young Goethe which betra-s' consider-

able talent, and even though he never became a real artist he did not

cease to exercise his eye in seeing beauty and his hand in reproducing

on paper the impression received. He never traveled without taking

paper and sketch-book with him, and we have innumerable drawings

from his hand which, though by no means perfect, possess someinterest even for great artists.

Goethe collected all the sketches which he made in his early

youth in a portfolio which he called JuvcniUa. The Goethc-GcscU-

schaft has published the most characteristic of these drawings, and

we here reproduce some of them. Most of them are artistic in con-

ception and drawn with a firm yet delicate hand. Take for instance

the watch-tower of Sachsenhausen and the church of St. Leonhard.

and consider that they were made by a boy in his 15th vear whohad no special artistic education.

In another drawmg the young poet has sketched himself, and

we notice his intention to display the characteristic interests of his

life. He himself is seated at a table writing, and on the wall in the

728 THE OPEN COURT.

background hang his hat and coat together with his sword, andprobably a guitar. At the left upper corner of the window is his

sketch of his sister, Cornelia. Behind his chair stands an easel with

THE YOUNG POET, DRAWN BY HIMSELF.From the portfolio Juvenilia.


an unfinished landscape upon it. Tradition does not betray the con-

tents of the bottle on the table behind him. In spite of some tech-

nical mistakes, the conception of the sketch is admirable and shows

both thought and taste. How much Goethe trained himself in

'%.^

THE WATCH TOWER OF SACHSENHAUSEN ON THE MAIN, OPPOSITE

FRANKFORT.

Drawing by Goethe contained in the portfoUo Juvenilia.

artistic observation appears in the following sentence in 'Truth and

Fiction": "I saw no old castle, no old building, which I did not

reproduce as closely as possible."

Goethe's own home at Weimar was comfortable and betrayed

his love of art, but there was no show of luxury, and his study

730 THE OPEN COURT.

presented the appearance of Spartan simplicity. In his talks with

Eckermann (March 23, 1829) he said:

"Magnificent bulidings and rooms are for princes and kings.

He who lives in them feels at ease ; he is contented and wishes for

nothing else. It is quite contrary to my nature. In a splendid

dwelling such as I had at Karlsbad I am lazy and indolent. Narrow

GOETHE S PERSONALITY 731

quarters on the other hand like this poor room where we now are,

in somewhat disorderly order, a little Bohemian, are the right

thing for me. They permit my nature entire freedom to be active

and to make something of myself."

Co/i/e iU&'L (2 c'IlozL -

jietcz Uoeth

Jori. ncu

. Jrape/Lu

tres oosMmm

AN ETCHING BY GOETHE.

From the portfolio Juvenilia.

Two days later he touched on the same subject:

"You see no sofa in my room ; I always sit in my old wooden

chair and only in the last few months I have arranged a sort of

732 THE OPEN COURT.

rest for my head. Surroundings of comfortable, tasteful furniture

dull my thought and reduce me to a passive condition."

While Goethe's study was simple and serviceable his homewas large and comfortable and did not lack a display of art. Oneof his friends, the naturalist-philosopher Karl Gustav Carus of

Dresden, describes Goethe's house at Weimar thus

:

"Immediately upon entrance into the modestly large house,

built in a simple antique style, the inclinations of the owner were

clearly indicated by the broad easy stairway as well as the decora-

tion of the banisters with the hound of Diana and the young fawn

GOETHE S STUDY.

Drawn by O. Schultz after a photograph by L. Held.

of Belvidere. Farther up a group of Castor and Pollux agreeably

surprise the eyes, and on the main floor the guest was greeted by

a hospitable "Salve" in the hall. This room itself was richly deco-

rated with busts and engravings, and towards the back of the house

opened through another hall of statuary upon the gaily entwined

balcony and a stairway leading into the garden. Conducted into

another room the guest found himself surrounded anew with works

of art and antiquities. Beautifully burnished vessels of chalcedony

stood around on marble tables ; above the sofa green hangings half

concealed a large copy of the old mural painting known by the


name of "the Aldobrand Wedding" ;^ while the selection of pieces

of art kept under glass and in frames, and mostly representing

objects of ancient history, deserved the closest attention."

' The Aldobrand Wedding is a picture dating presumably from the ageof Augustus, which has been discovered (1606) near the Church of St. MariaMaggiore at Rome, on the grounds which formerly belonged to Miecenas. It

represents the preparation for a wedding, consisting of three groups. It wasnamed after Cardinal Aldobrandini, its first owner, and is now kept in theVatican library.

* A gift from Duke Karl August, 1792. Johann Walther Goethe, thepoet's grandson and the last of the family, bequeathed it to the state of Saxe-Weimar at his death, April 15, 1885. Now the seat of the Goethe NationalMuseum.

734 THE OPEN COURT.

Goethe loved traveling. He journeyed along the Rhine, through

Switzerland and Italy, and frequently visited Karlsbad and Teplitz

;

but he was always glad to return to his home in Weimar, and in

one of his letters to Christiana Vulpius. his faithful consort, he

wrote

:

"From east to west,

At home is best."

[Von Osten nach Westen

—

Zu Hause am besten.]

He always dressed as occasion demanded. At court or whenreceiving guests he would appear in a somber black court dress with


his decorations on his breast, but he did not hesitate to be seen by

his intimate friends on hot days in his shirt sleeves, or in his com-

fortable woolen gown in winter.

Goethe enjoyed gardening, and his philosophical as well as

scientific interest in plant life is sufficiently proved by his poem on

the "Metamorphosis of Plants." He stayed frequently in his little

garden house outside the city and loved to meet his friends there.

A humorous incident is told by Goethe of Gottsched,- who was

considered a kind of dictator of German literature. While Goethe

was a student at Leipsic Gottsched still basked in the glory of his

fame though he had long since passed the zenith of his significance.

He was a pompous man of the old style belonging to the period of

the full-bottomed wig, the French allonge periwig, and Goethe criti-

cised him with impartiality as an author in the second book of his

"Truth and Fiction." When Schlosser visited Leipsic Goethe called

on Gottsched in company with his future brother-in-law, and gives

an account of this interview. We quote from Oxenford's trans-

lation of "Truth and Fiction"

:

"I cannot pass over the visit we paid Gottsched, as it exempli-

fies the character and manners of that man. He lived very respect-

ably in the first story of the Golden Bear, where the elder Breitkopf,

on account of the great advantage which Gottsched's writings, trans-

lations, and other aids had brought to the trade, had promised him

a lodging for life.

"We were announced. The servant led us into a large chamber,

saying his master would come immediately. Now, whether we mis-

understood a gesture he made, I cannot say ; at any rate, we thought

^Gottsched was born February 2, 1700, at Juditten in Eastern Prussia,and died September 12, 1766, at Leipsic, where he had lived since 1724. In1730 he became professor of poetry, and in 1734 professor of logic and meta-physics.

7?>(i THE OPEN COURT.

he directed us into an adjoining room. We entered, to witness a

singular scene; for, on the instant, Gottsched, that tall, broad, gigan-

tic man, came in at the opposite door in a morning-gown of green

GOETHE S PERSONALITY. 7Z7

damask lined with red taffeta ; but his monstrous head was bald and

uncovered. This, however, was to be immediately provided for.

The servant rushed in at a side-door with a full-bottomed wig in his

hand (the curls came down to the elbows), and handed the head-

ornament to his master with gestures of terror. Gottsched, without

manifesting the least vexation, raised the wig from the servant's

arm with his left hand, and, while he very dexterously swung it

up on his head, gave the poor fellow such a box on the ear with his

right paw, that the latter went spinning out at the door, as is often

seen in comedies ; whereupon the respectable old grandfather invited

GOTTSCHLD RLDL KES HIS SERVANT.

us quite gravely to be seated, and kept up a pretty long discourse

with good grace."

Goethe was a man of the world. It is true that in his youth

he passed through a period of fermentation in which. Titan-like, he

could rebel against authority in any form, but when he saw more

of the world he followed the behests of common sense and respected

rank and power even when due merely to heredity. He was a poet

by nature, but in Weimar he had become a man of affairs and a

courtier. In this respect he was different from Beethoven who re-

738 THE OPEN COURT.

mained an outspoken democrat all his life, at least a non-respector

of rank, preserving this tendency even in the presence of his imperial

friend, the liberal-minded Emperor Joseph, who not only distin-

guished him frequently with marks of personal friendship, but also

humored his often rude independence. Bettina von Arnim tells a

story which illustrates this contrast between Goethe and Beethoven.

One day during their stay at Teplitz Beethoven and Goethe

were walking together when they met the whole coterie of royal

personages. Beethoven went so far as to show a certain disrespect

CARICATURE OF GOETHE. A CARICATURE OF BEETHOVEN.By Daniel Maclise after a similar cari-

cature b}' Thackeray.

by passing through their midst regardless of their rank, while Goethe

modestly doffed his hat and made room for them to pass. Bettina

tells us that Goethe was somewhat perplexed by the "quite untamed"

personality of the great composer, while Beethoven blamed Goethe

for his courtier-like behavior and on the next day following vented

his indignation in these words : "Kings and princes can indeed be-

stow titles and orders, but they can not make great men, who there-

fore must be held in respect. When two come together such as

Goethe and I, then these great gentlemen must observe what it is


that counts for great with such as we. Yesterday we met the whole

imperial family [of Austria], and Goethe disengaged himself from

my arm in order to stand aside. I pressed my hat down on my head

DUKE KARL AUGUST AND GOETHE.

After an engraving by Schwerdgeburt.

740 THE OPEN COURT.

and went through the thickest of the crowd with my arms hanging

at my sides. Princes and courtiers drew up in a double Hne, the

Duke of Weimar took off his hat to me and the Empress greeted mefirst. Much to my amusement I saw the procession file by Goethe

who stood at one side bowing with his hat in his hand. I took him

roundly to task for it afterwards."

This makes Goethe appear in a rather unfavorable light, but

we must consider that Beethoven also went too far in his brusque

JOHANN FRIEDRICH COTTA^ BARON COTTENDORF.

Goethe's publisher and founder of Die Horen.

manner, and he might perhaps on second thought have granted that

even royalty ought to be treated with gentlemanly behavior.

To complement this trait of Goethe's character we ought to say

that while he admired his own sovereign, Karl August, and while

he respected his rights even in punctilious formalities, he was by no

means a pliable courtier, but in his official duties whenever he thought

that his own judgment was better than his sovereign's, he insisted

on his point with great tenacity so that the Duke is reported to have


complained sometimes of his obstinacy. Once while disagreeing

about filling a chair at the university of Jena, the Duke finally broke

off the conversation by saying in a tone of comradeship, "Thou art

an odd fellow and canst not stand contradiction."

Though Goethe was upon the whole very simple in his habits

of life and in a way frugal, he spent much money, partly for his

travels, partly for books and art treasures, and also for his wines.

Further we have good reason to know that neither his wife Christiana

nor his daughter-in-law Ottilie were good housekeepers. He drew

a very good income from his books and received many gifts from

home. When his mother died he inherited the fortune of his parents

which was not inconsiderable. Payments made to him between

1795 and 1832 by Cotta alone, his main publisher, amounted to

401,090 thalers; and between the years 1832 and 1865, until the

expiration of the copyright, his heirs drew the additional amount

of 154,824 thalers. He kept a faithful account of his expenses, and

yet his pecuniary aflfairs were never prosperous, and he frequently

complained of being short of funds.

* * *

Goethe loved jovial company and wrote several jolly drinking

songs. In his younger years especially he drank wine rather freely,

but when he grew older he became suspicious of all stimulants. Hedrank no tea and very little coffee, deeming both to be poisonous,

and also abstained from the use of tobacco. He took beer or strong

liquors only as an exception, but being a Rhinelander it was difficult

for him to give up wine even when he began to doubt its whole-

S9meness. Once he wrote (in 1780) : "I drink almost no wine at

all and gain daily in insight and ability to lead an active life." In

1786 he wrote from Italy: "I am very moderate. The red wine

of this country I can not stand, and like St. Louis I drink it mixed

with much water." But these moods did not make him a total ab-

stainer. He continued to drink a glass of Madeira for his forenoon

lunch and a bottle of Wiirzburg wine for mid-day dinner, while in

the evening he enjoyed either a punch or a glass of champagne.

It is remarkable that he could stand so much, but it is noteworthy

that he recommends moderation to his son while a student at the

university of Heidelberg. In a fatherly letter he writes in 1808:

"We are living on in the same old way, quietly and busily, especially,

too, as far as wine is concerned, with regard to which it pleases meto learn from your letter that you beware of drinking which ha^

742 THE OPEN COURT.

GOETHE (by RUMPF).


become so very much the fashion although it militates more than

one thinks against a prudent, cheerful and active life,"

An anecdote from the poet's sojourn in Karlsbad is told in

Goethe's own words by Professor Luden of Jena as follows:

"Walking up and down as was my habit, I repeatedly came

across an old man of perhaps 78 or 80 years of age, who leaning

on his gold-headed cane passed along the same street coming and

going. I learned that he was a very deserving retired general of a

prominent old family. I noticed several times that the old manlooked at me sharply, even standing still and looking back at meafter I had passed. I paid no special attention to this at the time

because I had had similar experiences before. Once, however, I

started to take a stroll on the side path in order to look at some-

thing or other more particularly. The old man came up to me in

a friendly manner, slightly lifted his hat, to which of course I suit-

ably responded, and addressed me in the following fashion : 'Your

name is Mr. Goethe, is it not?'—Quite right.—'From Weimar?'

—

Right again.—

'You have written books, haven't you?'—Oh yes,

—

'And made verses?'—That too.—

'They are said to be fine.'—Hm!

—

'Have you written much?'—Some might think so.—

'Is it hard to

write verses?'—So so.—

'It depends a good deal on one's mood I

fancy? Whether a person has eaten and drunk well, doesn't it?'

—

It amounts to about that.—'Now see ! You ought not to waste your

time in Weimar, but in my opinion you should come to Vienna.'

—

I've often thought of it.—'Now see! It's fine in Vienna, they have

good things to eat and drink!'—Hm!—'And they make a lot of

such people who can write verses.'—Hm !

—'Yes indeed, such people

—if you are a good fellow, you see, and know how to live—are

received in the first and finest houses.'—Hm !—

'Do come and try

!

Let me know when you come, for I have a wide acquaintance, rela-

tives and influence. Just write : Goethe from Weimar, met at Karls-

bad. The last is necessary to remind me because I have so muchon my mind.'—I'll not fail to.

—'But tell me though, what have you

written ?'-—All sorts of things from Adam to Napoleon, from Ararat

to Blocksberg, from the cedar to the bramble bush.—

'They say it

is widely known.'-—Hm! Unfortunately,—

'Too bad that I have

never read anything of yours, and never heard of you before ! Havenew revised editions of your writings appeared?'—Oh'yes, probably,—'And perhaps more will appear?'—Let us hope so.

—'Well, but

see! then I will not buy your works, I only buy final editions.

Otherwise one always has the annoyance of owning a poor book or

else one must buy the same book the second time. Therefore in

744 THE OPEN COURT.

order to be secure I always wait until the author is dead before I

buy his books. It is a principle with me, and I can not depart from

this principle even in your case.'—Hm!"* * *

Another encounter of a humorous kind is reported of a cap-

tain of hussars, Franz yon Schwanenfeld, who happened to cross

Goethe's path in Teplitz in 1833. The gallant officer had reached

the place at the end of June and could not get a room except in

the basement of a garden house situated on the promenades. One

morning the light of his room was darkened by the figure of a fine

old gentleman who sat on the bench just outside his window and

drank a mug of water which the servant brought him. This was

repeated so frequently that our hussar was annoyed and yet he was

attracted by the fine features of the stranger. He opened his window

and called out, "Good morning!" but received no reply except a

glance of rebuke. Undaunted the captain continued, "Are you a

hypochondriac?" No answer. The question was repeated in a

voice of thunder. Finally the old gentleman spoke: "Strange!"

said he. "Indeed it is strange," replied the captian, "here you are

sick and sit out in the cold fog drinking your water alone in solitude

and silence. I would rather drink ink in company with others and

would be cured the sooner. Do you know, I would be disposed to

come to blows with you."

Goethe's eyes opened wide in amazement, and the captain con-

tinued: "No danger! I like your hero face too much!"

The stranger was pleased with the aggressive soldier who

clothed his offensive language so adroitly in flattery. They entered

into conversation and soon were walking together arm in arm. They

talked about Schiller and Goethe, about the Duke of Weimar and the

war, and the captain said he was very fond of "Tasso" but disliked

"Werther." The stranger called the hussar his doctor because he

had cured him of his attack of hypochondria, and on the following

day they met again, but this time the patient was in company with

another gentleman whom the doctor took to be a forester or the

tenant of some large estate, and he tried to instill into both a more

joyous conception of life. After a few days Herr von Schwanenfeld

was informed that his acquaintance was Goethe, and the latter's

companion w^honi he had addressed so unceremoniously, the Duke

Karl August.* * *

A curious incident is reported by Dr. G. Parthey, of a Berlin

woman who may be characterized as a German Mrs. Malaprop.


He quotes her as giving the following account of her meeting with

the famous poet

:

"I had made up my mind to visit the great Goethe just once,

and so one day when I rode through Weimar I went to his garden

and gave the gardener one dollar so that he would hide me in an

arbor and give me the wink when Goethe came along. Now when

he came down the path and the gardener beckoned to me, I stepped

out and said: 'Worshipful sir!' Then he stood still, put his hands

behind his back, looked at me and asked, 'Do you know me?' I an-

swered, 'Great man, who is there that does not know you?' and be-

gan to recite,

"Firmly bound, the mold of clay

In its dungeon walls doth stand.'^

At that he made a bow, turned around and went on. So I had my

way and had seen the great Goethe."

* * *

It was characteristic of Goethe that he was opposed to all gos-

sip, and whenever slander was reported to him he resented it

strongly. Once he said to Chancellor von Miiller, "Through such

malevolent and indiscreet inventions one makes enemies and em-

bitters one's own existence. I would rather hang myself than be

constantly negative, constantly in the opposition, constantly ready

to shoot at the faults and shortcomings of my fellows and neighbors.

One must be very young and frivolous to tolerate such things." Onanother occasion he replied very sharply to a visitor who related

some scandal, "Keep the sweepings of your dirt at home, and do

not bring it into my house."

Once while passing through a park at Weimar his attention

was called to a couple of lovers who thought themselves unobserved.

They were known in Weimar, and when asked whether he had seen

them Goethe answered, "I did, but I don't believe it."

* * *

Goethe was lenient in judging harmless joys and insisted espe-

cially upon the protection of the liberties of children. He used to

complain that the police disturbed the people in some of their inno-

cent enjoyments. Eckermann reports the following remarks under

the date of March 12, 1828:

"I only need look out of the window in our dear Weimar to

become aware of how things are with us. When recently the snow

lay on the ground and my neighbor's children wished to try their

' This is the beginning of Schiller's best known poem "The Bell."

746 THE OPEN COURT.

little sleds in the street, a police officer was immediately on the spot,

and I saw the poor little things run away as fast as they could. Nowwhen spring sunshine entices them out of the houses and they want

to play some little game with their companions in front of their

doors, I see that they are always uneasy as if they were not sure

and as if they feared the arrival of some police tyrant. No boy

can crack a whip or sing or call out but the police is on hand at

once to forbid him. In our town everything tends toward making

voung people tame before their time and to drive out of them all

naturalness, all originality, and wildness, so that in the end there is

nothing left but the Philistine."

When the ancient custom of burning up old brooms on St.

John's day was prohibited by a regulation of the Weimar police,

Goethe wrote down the following lines to be circulated as a propa-

ganda against this interference with boyish merry-making:

"St. Johns-day fires shan't be forbid,

Nor hindered harmless joys

;

For of old brooms we must be rid,

And boys will still be boys."

[Johannisfeuer sei unverwehrt.

Die Freude nie verloren!

Besen werden immer stumpf gekehrt,

Und Jungens immer geboren.]

goethe's personality. characterized by incidents from his

Documents